


Advanced Monsters and Greek Heroes

by melodraaama



Category: Community (TV), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Adventure, Aged-down, Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canon Backstory, Demigods, Drug Use, F/M, Football, Gen, Inaccurate Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Light Romance, Not Beta Read, Please see notes for content warnings!!!!, Pre-Canon, Prophecy, Road Trips, Team as Family, Teenage Dorks, Unhealthy Behaviours, one-sided Troy/Annie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25664791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodraaama/pseuds/melodraaama
Summary: Two young demigods awaken to the truth of their heritage and powers after they're attacked during a football match. Unable to find a quick way to the safety of Camp Half-Blood, Annie and Troy must work with the other demigods they meet along the way in a road trip that ultimately entangles them in a web of prophecy and divine quests. If only any of them knew what they were doing.
Relationships: Britta Perry/Jeff Winger, Shirley Bennett & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes/Annie Edison
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	Advanced Monsters and Greek Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> [pinterest board](https://pin.it/3LZ1Oe7) here !! (slight spoilers for what houses i placed all of them in tho)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning : weight-shaming and bad eating habits, drug usage, maltreatment of children (toddlers and tiara style)

Her uniform itches. It's a size too big, hanging off her shoulders like a banner saying "I Should Be A Band Kid" in big, bold letters. She should say something, change it in for one of Mallory's spares that she knows she can fit into because her mom did laundry for the team one time and Annie might have tried on one of the custom-made ones to prove that she wasn't fat, Mallory! And, she can do a better kick jump than her, anyway — if she had any time to prove it between chess club and AP Latin because Coach Hicks would put them both on the bottom of the pyramid if she caught any of them trying to show off out of formation.

Also, her head hurts. She supposes it's from pulling at her frizzy hair all night until she finally got a perfectly, slicked cheerleader bun — but she also knows, deep down, it's because she opted for two Adderalls this morning to finish her Trigonometry homework instead of drinking her team's Super Juice. It's definitely her contacts, too, the cheap ones her step-dad bought online. Annie has to blink the tears and pain away, which doesn't go unnoticed.

"You need to keep your eyes wide out there," her mother snaps, giving her a frown. "You're smudging your make-up."

She gives a quick smile to another one of the cheer moms, something that conveyed their shared frustration of dealing with teenage girls, before dragging Annie with her to one of the vanities. Her mother sits her down and begins to apply another dusting of setting powder and red glitter paint.

Annie can barely see the mirror to examine her face, so she tries to focus on her mother's face, contorted up with impatience and attention. Up close, she doesn't really understand why people have always told her they don't look alike. Sure, she's gotten passing insults about looking like her shut-in step-brother, but never any remarks about her platinum blonde, sharp-nosed mother. She supposes hair-dye will be on the table when she turns fourteen in a few months, and definitely a nose-job at sixteen just like all of her cousins.

A horn blares outside the locker room. The girls and their parents come alive at the sound, a renewed ruckus of hairspray, chatter, and overbearing parents. For Annie, it is just resignation that settles, smothering any school pride or pep she had stored in her. She keeps her shoulders from sinking, though, before her mom makes her drink some Super Juice. Her pills never mixed well with the energy drink concoction, and the foreboding feelings she's getting from the game today only makes her more hesitant to be force-fed.

Her mother finishes her off with more hairspray. "Now, don't forget you have your archery competition and hand-modelling photoshoot tomorrow, so don't ruin your fingers."

Annie nods. That means they won't go to the post-game pizza party with the team after all. Not that she's ever gone, since it usually conflicted with spelling bee prep, but this time was different — Troy Barnes was hosting it. She knows she's going to see him on the field today, and she might be able to sneak in a little "Hi," during the break, but it's the first party she and Troy will both be at….

"Alright, go," her mother says, shooing her away with her free hand.

When Annie finally catches up with the other cheerleaders, Coach Hicks is already halfway through her speech. Nearby, Coach Rogers was doing the same thing, his voice reaching them from the hallway outside. It's their usual speech -- fun, safety and friendship -- but it's rehearsed. It's about as fun, safe and friendly as Annie going through withdrawal in the fifth grade. However, Coach Hicks adds something else at the end: "Oh, and be careful out there. A storm's coming our way."

Annie's glad for the extra hairspray to keep her hair in check, then.

They're let go with a "3—2—1—Cheer!" and they all exit to the bleachers, milling by their side of the football field, pompoms and all. The clouds above are dark and charged, so the whole field is lit up by the overhead lights. It's like five giant spotlights being blasted into her eyes, which does no good for her headache.

They arrive before the football players do, so Annie takes the time to smooth out her too-big uniform again as she's hidden behind the bleachers. She wants to look presentable, you know, just in case. Though, any chance of changing her clothes has long passed, so she's left with what she has.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when someone taps on her shoulder. She turns around, hand still fiddling with her training bra, to see a stranger smiling down at her.

"Hello, dearie," the woman says. "My name's Shirley."

Annie should be a little wary of her slightly condescending tone, and the fact that the woman's a stranger talking to her behind the bleachers just like that one time someone tried to sell her drugs in Ohio, but she doesn't feel perturbed. Rather, she just smiles hesitantly in return. She can't describe the feeling if she tried.

Shirley continues, laughing politely. "Did you know I used to go to Riverside, too? Go, Titans!"

"Hey, loser, we're starting soon," Jenna shouts at her from the field. Annie takes it as her chance to turn and run away without being impolite — but before she can say anything, the woman steps a bit closer.

"Listen, you don't know me," Shirley says, her voice dropping. She takes Annie's hand and places something into it. This is definitely just like Ohio, just less Reggaeton in the background. "But you need to take this, and you'll know what to do when the time comes."

She pulls away, and smiles again. "Go, Titans!" She walks away like she didn't just short-circuit Annie's entire nervous system, walking up to the bleachers to actually sit next to a seemingly harmless family that greets her warmly.

Annie looks down at the object in her hand. It's a little Christian cross, gold-plated and hanging by a chain — which, okay, weird Christian ladies coming up to hound her to convert was definitely not new, but this was _weird_ weird. She should toss it to the ground for someone else to discover and get rid of it, but she only frowns at it. She closes her hand around it and it hums with something she can't quite place, sending little tingles to her fingers. It's beginning to look more like that one time in Kentucky, instead.

She runs back to the field where the girls are already lined up to enter the field. Annie has to squeeze past many of them to get to where she's supposed to be standing, and, even then, someone else has already taken her usual spot in the formation. Now, she'll have to run to the field a bit faster to reach her position, but it's not going to kill her. The head cheerleaders are standing front and center, blocking Annie's view of their football team warming up. Across the field, the enemy Gophers are warming up as well, stretching and waving to the crowd.

Well, fuck it. Annie reaches down and stuffs the cross in her shoe while she still has time. It's small enough that nothing is sticking out to hit her as she jumps, but big and pointy enough that she could feel it even without putting any pressure on that foot. She'll throw it away later, or just sell it. She could use the money.

When she stands back up, she catches Nina watching her with a raised eyebrow. Nina's eyes flick to her shoe, then back to her. The blood runs out of Annie's face that it only makes her headache worse. The girls have known about the Adderall since her meltdown two months ago, but something in Nina's look makes her think she saw her talk to Sheena, or whatever her name was. Nina wouldn't know about Ohio, right?

She opens her mouth to protest, or to say something snarky, or anything — but the horn overhead screeches thrice. Annie absolutely dreads the sound. Nina, Jenna, the team - hell, the game escapes her mind, and it's just her and the field now. Just like the first time she had to perform, just like last week at the book fair, she feels it churning inside her. She just can't ignore it now. Her hands freeze up into balls at her sides, and her feet are cemented to the floor. Any second now, the ground would surely open up to swallow her whole to save her.

But then, someone pushes her forward. She's pulled into the whirlpool of the group, tugging her forward onto the field. The girls are whooping and hollering as they run, but the sentiment dies in Annie's own throat. She is trapped in this sea of bright lights, itchy uniforms and shouting. She remembers to run to her starting position, though she nearly stumbles when the cross digs into the bottom of her foot. Jenna and the other girls glare at her momentarily, but then it's replaced with wide, wide smiles.

The music starts, and Annie moves on instinct. They shake, they cheer, they run around to make a T formation. Their routine is fairly simple, but it has a lot of jumping and tosses, many of which Annie is a part of thanks to her being one of the younger, smaller team members. Being in the air provides her little comfort, but it, at least, distracts her. She stills feels stiff and robotic as she does a somersault to the beat, but the initial terror has subsided. She has to catch herself at one wrong flip.

Soon enough, the cheer ends. The crowd applauds for them as they run back to the sidelines, but Annie tunes it out. She's faintly aware that music starts up again for the enemy team's cheer squad to start up their routine, but even that is dulled.

Instead, she runs back into the locker rooms. A few people follow her in, but most of the others have left to find seats for the game. She's only there for her water bottle, something she had to pack herself. She would take from their shared cooler, but Jenna's mom usually locks it between games to keep the moms' Zinfandel bottles safe from any snitches.

The bottle is smacked out of her hands. Their cheer captain Ronnie stands in front of her, scowling with her hand still raised. Behind her, both Mallory and Thea stood as back-up, the squad's numbers Two and Three. Well, Mallory was standing watch, Thea was sitting down, Tweeting.

"What the fuck was that, Edison?" Ronnie nearly shouts. "You basically ruined the show."

Annie knows better than to try and pick it up now. She purses her lips on habit, hiding her braces and locking her jaw for a suckerpunch. They wouldn't beat her up, unless they wanted her mom to absolutely ruin the team's budget, but they're still much bigger than her. They can be angry. Very angry.

Ronnie huffs, crossing her arms. "Why the fuck are you still here if you don't give a shit about the team? You're not even that pretty and you're always coked up for practice. I could fucking turn you in."

"Ronnie—" Mallory says, rushed.

"Not fucking actually, Mallory," Ronnie snaps. Of course, she wouldn't do that. The three of them got as much druggie rumours as Annie does. Still, they're just rumours, and, even then, the moms are much more willing to overlook a bunch of teens living their youth and experimenting before college than an antisocial girl who probably does heroin at the back of the local 7-Eleven.

The horns blare again, one, long sound this time. The crowd starts to cheer, which could only mean that the teams are on the field now. There's not much left until the game officially starts, so Ronnie shares a look with Thea who looks at Mallory.

Ronnie turns back to Annie. "You're fucking lucky. We're finishing this later."

They leave her in a rush of giggles and snickers, as if their one-sided fight was something Annie just hallucinated. Maybe it was, and all this was some post-Taco Tuesday fever dream. Maybe she's actually a really popular cheerleader who goes to all the parties and doesn't have to take five extra AP classes every year, and this was just some nightmare she was having. She's actually dating Troy Barnes, and he actually knows she exists, and everyone is nice to her. Maybe she just needs to take another pill.

She picks up the metal water bottle, dented from the impact. It's still full of water that definitely won't be finished. Running up the side, it says 'Titans' in big letters that matches the designs on her duffel bag. She grabs her bag from under one of the vanities, and the muffled sound of pills rattling follows her movements. It's only habit now to wrap her pill bottle with a large sweater and hide it somewhere accessible.

Outside, the crowd cheers for the game. Probably a few points were scored, a few points for the other team somewhere already. Understanding the game is easy, and understanding how to optimise a fifteen year old's tendency to tackle before thinking is even easier, but just because she's a cheerleader does not require her to be excited over it.

Before she reaches into her bag, she pauses. She bends down and unceremoniously yanks the necklace from its hiding spot in her shoe. The light reflects off the gold-ish metal in a way that reminds her of her own chain necklace back home, except it was instead a black Star of David. Maybe the crazy Christian ladies were stepping their game up for football season because she could swear the necklace must've cost something good to look like that. Not real gold, but something close. She runs her finger over the cross, over Jesus's face, calculating.

Outside, something hits the ground with a heavy thud. It's close enough to be heard, which means someone got tackled by the halfway line, close to the entrance of the dugout. She can imagine it now: probably Tommy intercepting a pass from the enemy, then immediately being tackled by, like, five guys.

It should be a boo from the home team, or, at least, cheers from the Gopher fans, but it's only a piercing scream. The sound cuts through the air until many more people are shouting and yelling. The ground above rumbles with activity.

Annie drops her bag and bottle, probably denting the bottle again but her mind starts racing with her own exit strategy to even care. Her hand instinctively closes into fists, closing in on the cross. What is happening out there? She thinks, _Oh, fuck, her mom, her team, Troy._ Without pausing to even reconsider the dumbassery of running headfirst towards the screams, she runs outside.

It's pouring rain now, a stark contrast from ten minutes ago. The skies above are nearly black, rumbling and still foreboding deadly lightning strikes. Storms are not rare in Colorado, but Annie's never had to stay outside for it, never had to run and make sense of anything while people rush out of the bleachers and push against each other and her. She can't see her mom anywhere, but she sees a flash of a cheerleader outfit rushing past. She does see that woman again, Shayna, or something, standing at the top of the stands, trying to shout over the yelling to redirect people elsewhere.

She doesn't see it at first, but there's actually something people are running away from. Near one of the end zones, one of the light poles crashed to the ground, knocking the goalpost with it. From where she stood, no one seemed to have been crushed by the fallen structure, but there was something in her path, blocking her view. At first, she could only see something that looked like a crashed car, wheels upturned as it sat on its side. It would have needed to be tossed by the wind to both hit the tower and land where it was, but the wind offered little resistance even during the storm.

"Help!" someone shouts.

She knows that voice. She has to squint with the distance, but she's sure of it. The red uniform is unmistakable against the green grass even in the dark and the rain. Their star quarterback, Troy Barnes, is trapped under the vehicle.

Annie doesn't hesitate before she's running towards the car. She's tiny and weaker than anyone here, but she's still going to help, dammit. The ground is slippery as she goes, but she manages not to trip. However, the closer she gets, her vision of the car goes fuzzy until she's standing a few meters away, and it's only barely recognizable. She wipes away the rain with her free hand, blinking as her contacts act up again. The car begins to shimmer in and out of view. Soon, it's not even a car pinning Troy down. It's—

It's a monster! It has a slender, animal body with four large paws, one of them square on Troy's football armour. Without it, its dark talons would've already dug into his chest. From the back, it looks just like a lion, shaggy mane matted by rain, but, fuck, it's far bigger than any zoo could handle. Where a lion would have a regular tail, this one instead had a scorpion's stinger, raised and poised. It lowers its face towards Troy. Oh, shit, it's gonna eat him!

She has to save him.

"Hey!" Annie screams. "Over here!"

Maybe calling the monster towards her when she didn't have a plan wasn't a good idea, but it's something for now. Thankfully, the monster falls for it. It raises its head away from Troy's poor face, and looks at Annie instead, pointing its stinger at her. She had expected a lion's face with large cat eyes, but, instead, a man scowled back at her.

A name pops into her head: manticore. She's never had to take a class on Greek History or Mythology because she took Classic Indian Religious Texts as an elective in third grade, so she already had the credits for an International Religion class. However, the name is clear in her head like Coach Hicks screamed it at her during practice one day and she had just forgotten.

Manticore, part man, part lion, part scorpion, and ultra-deadly.

She takes a step back. "W-Wait, I didn't mean it."

The manticore screeches into the air. It turns to face her, head and stinger unmoving. Now, the monster was focusing on her with its deadly gaze, but, at least, it takes its paw off Troy, who sags now that he doesn't have to struggle.

"Who are you, child?" the manticore asks. When it speaks, Annie can see its rows of sharp teeth taunting her. "I do not hesitate to kill you."

"I, uh—" Annie says. She takes a step back, but the monster steps forward. She takes another step back. "I'm h-here to save Troy."

The manticore pauses. It fixates its oddly human eyes onto her, like peering through a microscope to watch the little machinations of whatever tiny creatures were stuck in a petri dish. There's little else emotion in them, which only makes her feel like a puzzle instead of a meal. Then, it does something weird: it sniffs the air. It takes a deep breath, raising its nose into the air as its stinger sways behind it. When it opens its eyes again, they're bright orange and cat-like.

"Oh, look, another one," it purrs, grinning with its too many teeth.

The manticore advances on her, taking slow steps.

Except, something collides into the back of its head. It doesn't wince. The only indication it felt anything was that its expression became truly monstrous in an instant: its eyes grew wide and eyebrows pulled tight, its frown turning into a sneer. It turns its head around so fast that Annie's sure it broke its neck. Except, of course, it's a mythical being that's probably able to withstand a volcano.

When Annie looks, too, she sees that woman again. In one hand, she held a football, probably what she used to smack the manticore with, while her other hand was grabbing onto her large purse overflowing with other footballs meant as ammunition. Annie nearly cries in joy — Shirley's come to save them! — but it immediately turns to dread when she notices that Shirley doesn't have a weapon or plan to defeat a literal monster, either.

The manticore growls, and rushes at her.

"Watch out!" Annie cries.

Shirley's face remains steeled. She drops the footballs to the ground, and what was a purse suddenly turned into a large, bronze shield. She raises it over her head just in time for the monster's talons to come slashing down, aiming to kill. It resonates with a steely clang, erupting into sparks as its claws meet the elaborate design on the face of the shield. Its talons barely left a dent, rolling off like water and tossing the woman backwards.

Its stinger strikes for her side, but she brings her shield down to block it. She hops out of the way before the manticore attacks again, and it follows after her.

Annie takes the opportunity to run over to Troy's prone body. The monster doesn't chase after her so feels safe to look away and crouch over him. She drops the religious necklace next to him to free up her hands. He has a gash on his forehead that's thankfully stopped bleeding, but he's still more pallid than what she would want. At least, he's breathing. Annie lets out a sigh she's been holding.

She shakes his shoulders. "H-Hey, wake up."

Troy groans. He remains unconscious, closed eyes fluttering. He's soaked to the bone with sweat and storm that Annie can even feel him shiver. She's also drenched, but she's too filled with adrenaline to feel it.

Annie can't help but groan. She tries to shake him even more. She's kind of successful, but Troy still doesn't open his eyes. She glances up to call for help just in time to see Shirley block another hit.

Shirley is thrown back again. Except, this time, she's sent flying, and instead of landing on her feet, she misses her step and falls on her back. Her shield falls to the ground next to her. She groans at the impact, rolling to her side.

The manticore looks smug at the victory. It steps up to Shirley, raising its stinger.

"You have failed," it purrs ominously.

Annie jumps to her feet. "No!"

The manticore looks at her, its head whipping around again, like it should break its neck except it still doesn't. It smiles, rows of sharp, inhuman teeth glinting under the arena lights. It turns to face her, lowering its body, ready to pounce.

"Grab my necklace!" Shirley coughs up from the ground. " _Soteira_ will know what to do."

Annie doesn't even have the time to think about what Shirley said, much less question how she'd have enough time to figure out what to do with a Jesus necklace. Still, it's either looking dumb or getting eaten, so she has to hope that a miracle happens before she dies in her school's shitty football field.

She drops down to grab the necklace, and it tingles again in her hands. Behind her, she can hear the monster move, its paws thudding against the ground. She jumps to her feet. The manticore is only a few feet away from her now, and all thoughts leave her head. She's grounded watching helplessly as the monster gets closer.

Then Shirley shouts something, dulled in her ears. Suddenly, she's thrown off balance by the new weight in her hands. Like a band snapping, Annie snaps out of her shock to glance at the sword that has magically appeared. It's bronze, not like the gold necklace, and inlaid with some designs that Annie doesn't spend so long admiring because the manticore lunges at her, and Annie barely gets the chance to jump away. She nearly falls on her face, but she pushes herself to her feet.

The monster lands quickly, its paws digging into the dirt from its landing. The agile thing spins around, and lunges at her again. Annie can only swing blindly with the sword. Bronze meets a foot, and the manticore screeches as it jumps away. The blade had cut in between two of its toes, so now it was bleeding black goo.

"You nuisance!" it screams. It pounces, but instead of using its talons, it attacks with its stinger. Annie's swing goes wide, and surely, that's how she dies, sad and alone, but Shirley jumps in front of her. There's a loud clang, and both of them are knocked back.

The manticore continues with its barrage, swiping at them with its claws in front, then trying to find a spot on the side for its stinger to jab. Shirley saves them from the claws, and Annie tried her best to block the monster on the sides when Shirley couldn't. It was hit, after hit, after hit. The manticore was nowhere near done with them.

Between gasping breaths, Shirley says, "I'm sorry, but you'll need to find a way to get him on the underside."

The monster strikes down with its claws, and Shirley just barely blocks it. Annie sees the stinger coming, a simple pattern of attacks, and she whispers, "Cover me."

She rushes the other direction, hearing a clang that means Shirley's blocked the stinger in time. The manticore tries to swipe at her, but she slides on the wet grass under it, and soon the stinger will definitely get her there, but she doesn't think about it, not now, not when she's that close. She jams the sword in its underbelly, and the monster howls on top of her. She rolls away just as the stinger aims for her legs, and she knocks into the sword. The manticore also starts to buck and flail, and the actions pull the sword to the side, deepening and widening the wound.

Annie's never had to kill an animal before, but she still never expected this much blood. Black ooze spills plentilly from the gash until drenches her, mixing in with rain. The monster falls to its side, its legs buckling, and it's just her luck because it crushes her with it. Well, only an arm and a leg, but the weight still makes Annie scream.

"Oh! Sweetie!" Shirley cries.

Annie looks up at the storm clouds. She blinks as rain continues to pour, and soon it's blocked by Shirley's face looking down at her.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Shirley says, "I made you get hurt. Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah," she says, all small and breathy. "We did it."

Shirley starts talking again, her mouth moving, but Annie starts to blink. Her vision swims, and she knows what this feeling is. This was that "Hot August Day After Volunteering at a Food Drive and Cheer Practice Without Eating" feeling.

She thinks, _I'm a hero_ , before her vision goes black to the sound of Shirley crying out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for how this chapter ends. its way too long already so i am planning on continuing on another chapter. so, no, annie's not dead lol.
> 
> i'd greatly appreciate criticism, and if you see any errors, please let me know !! thank you !!


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